16 May 2008

Huckabee "Jokes" to NRA of Gun "Aimed at" Barack Obama

Mike Huckabee, the former Republican presidential candidate and poster boy for social conservative causes, makes a truly tasteless joke at the annual convention of the National Rifle Association. After the former Arkansas governor was interrupted by a loud crash backstage, he "joked" the noise was Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama falling "off a chair" as he dodged a "gun" aimed at him.

"That was Barack Obama," Huckabee said to audience laughter. "He just tripped off a chair. He was getting ready to speak and somebody aimed a gun at him, and he dove for the floor," Huckabee told the NRA convention in Louisville, Kentucky, in comments that aired on CNN."

Watch Huckabee's "joke":

The clip was broadcast in the "Strategy Session" of CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer. "I’m sure the Secret Service wouldn’t be happy with those jokes either," Blitzer said. Both of the strategists present—including Republican Leslie Sanchez—agreed Huckabee's comments were offensive. "Not in good taste. I don't think I would—I'm not going to defend that one," Sanchez remarked.

Democratic front-runner Obama would be the first black U.S. presidential nominee or president. Many people have been concerned about his safety, and, as Rod 2.0 reported in May 2007, after numerous threats on his life, Obama began receiving Secret Service protection. This was "18 months before the general election and the earliest a presidential candidate has received protection."